A man allegedly preyed on 21 immigrant families by posing as a federal immigration agent with promises to help seek the release of their detained relatives from an Orange County jail, authorities said Thursday.
Some victims said they paid as much as $15,000, all cash. Some borrowed to make the payments. Others lost their life savings.

The Department of Homeland Security wants its DACA permits back. Today is the deadline.
Not all of them – just the 2,600 three-year permits that President Barack Obama’s administration issued, in error, after a February court injunction.
In recent months, immigration officials have been contacting – by phone and

A variety of licensed jobs – including architect, barber, boxer and accountant – soon will be open to undocumented immigrants in California.
The shift figures to change lives for tens of thousands of workers, either in the form of new opportunity or, critics say, in the form of a new wave of unfair competition.
Under

In the wake of a recent shooting allegedly involving an undocumented immigrant in the sanctuary city of San Francisco, people are looking closely at how local police cooperate – or don’t – with federal immigration authorities.
In Orange County, Sheriff’s Department officials say the agency is doing what it can to

Latinos outnumber whites in California, according to the latest census data.
The state had some 14.99 million Latinos, compared with about 14.92 million non-Hispanic whites, as of July 1, 2014, the most recent data available. Together, the two groups make up nearly 80 percent of the state’s population.
It’s a shift th

When he was 12, Branndon Gonzalez’s parents put his belongings in a big plastic bag outside their house and changed the locks. The young transgender, born a girl nicknamed Auxi, left that home and, later, his country, El Salvador.
Now 22, the undocumented resident from Phoenix is part of a growing movement trying to end the detenti

Mario Cuevas became the new consul of Mexico in Orange County this month, taking over an office that in recent years has altered its mission.
Once, the consulate in Santa Ana helped Mexicans and Mexican Americans with issues related to travel and residency, among other things.
But in recent years, the consulate has become a go-to

Aileen Navarrete, Rosa Diaz and Martha Rivera sit at a big wood table at the Nicholas Academic Center laughing and sharing what it means to go to Harvard University after growing up cleaning other people’s bathrooms.
Among many things, it means not having your parents care – but only because they’re unaware of all that

A program that anti-illegal immigration activists see as a burden to American taxpayers has generated $422.4 million in application fees and allowed hundreds of thousands of people to work and study in the country legally.In the three years since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals took effect, 664,607 young adults have

More than 1,800 immigrants, representing over 100 countries, will raise their right hand and pledge allegiance to the United States as new naturalized citizens on Tuesday.The top 10 countries represented during three naturalization ceremonies at the City National Grove of Anaheim will be: Mexico, Vietnam, Philippines, Korea, Iran, Ch

As leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Bishop Kevin Vann plays several roles: spiritual guide, fundraiser, enthusiastic salesman of the church and its ideals.Vann, 64, has a less visible role as well – he’s one of the nation’s leading advocates for immigration reform.Vann heads the Catholic L

Latinos in the United States are speaking more English at home and increasingly are likely to be proficient in the language.Fewer than three-quarters of Latino households, 73 percent, speak Spanish at home, down from 78 percent who primarily spoke Spanish at home in 2000, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Pew Research Cente

They live in the country illegally. They pepper their rallies with the chant “undocumented and unafraid.” And they cannot vote.Still, some politicians have heard their voices.In California, undocumented immigrants have political clout.“Today, we remind the rest of the nation that California i

The same California legislators who helped get undocumented residents drivers licenses unveiled a package Tuesday of 10 bills that would also provide them with subsidized health care and other benefits, including protection from fraud and discrimination.Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, said the flurry of

Miriam Álvarez-Hernández, an undocumented immigrant, was among the first this year to get a driving permit. She also was one of the first to register as an organ donor.New drivers like her, immigrants living in the country illegally, are credited with increasing the ranks of organ donors in California by 28 percent, com